


You Belong to Me

by rockinellie



Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-15 00:02:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14779784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rockinellie/pseuds/rockinellie
Summary: Ranmaru is told his behavior is different when Reiji is gone so he starts to pay attention.





	You Belong to Me

**Author's Note:**

> May be a little ooc Reiji is really hard for me which is hilarious because he's my best boy. Whatever man.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it anyway. I tend to have a thing for sleepy confessions I guess haha.

Annoyingly, he hadn’t even noticed the difference himself. Evening had set in, casting the room is near-darkness, the only saving grace was the small table lamp where he sat, reading a script in silence, frowning to himself, lost in it, when one of his roommates had come in. Which one, he didn’t care, although he did know that it wasn’t Reiji since he was away (again) on business. There was some shuffling and then the larger, overhead lights clicked on, and Ranmaru looked up, glaring.

“Good evening,” Ai had paused by the lightswitch, watching him curiously. 

Ranmaru was feeling a little bit-not cranky-on edge. When that had started, or why, was lost on him. So instead of an answer, Ai was met with a scowl. However, the reason for his short temper seemed to not be lost on the other boy.

Ai smiled a little, but it was gentle and not meant to be teasing, “Oh, I forgot Reiji isn’t here.”

“What does that have to do with me?” Ranmaru snipped, feeling himself tense up, shoulders drawing up together.

“You’re always upset when he’s gone. You always act more tense when he’s not around.”

The gut reaction was that Ai was lying, or maybe imagining, this. But Ranmaru knew that Ai was pretty impartial to many things-including the emotions of his bandmates. In other words, Ai wasn’t the type to lie to cause friction or to cause upset. So the angry retort that rose up in Ranmaru was shoved down in lieu of thinking it over. If Ai was saying Ranmaru’s behavior changed when Reiji was missing, then maybe there was some truth to that. At some point, Ranmaru finally tried to reply, looking up and opening his mouth, but Ai was gone. 

So it began. Ranmaru kept a log in a notebook that he carried with him, with dates and general mood. It was very simple, two lines, one marked with “Reiji Gone” and under that he wrote Yes or No. The column beside it said “Irritabile” And under he wrote Yes or No. And then one final column that said “Notes”. Here he wrote if something bad in general happened, like Camus being home. For the next several months he kept this log, watching his moods closely, and once in a while looking it over to see if a pattern emerged. To his annoyance it seemed Ai was correct in his initial observation, and so finally, three months after watching his emotions fluctuate due to Reiji’s disappearance or appearance, he decided to pursue why exactly Reiji had such a hold on him. 

Reiji was sitting in a chair, checking his phone, when Ranmaru stepped up behind him. Glancing up, Reiji smiled and gave him a short greeting.

“What are you doing tomorrow?”

“I have a photoshoot at eight in the morning and then I have an interview at eleven and-”

“Do you want company?” Ranmaru asked, staring down at him with an intensity he hoped would keep him from asking too many questions. He faltered a little when Reiji’s face lit up with a big grin.

“Sure! Do you want to meet me here at 6:30 and I’ll drive us?”

It was so early, Ranmaru felt his stomach sink a bit. Ugh, really? But finally he agreed, and quickly left before Reiji could ask him why he was willing to get up so early to sit on a set and watch him do his work. Shutting his bedroom door, Ranmaru sat on the edge of his bed and stared at the wall, frowning. If the strange fluttering in his heart meant anything he knew it wasn’t good. None of this was good. Honestly, it was more likely to explode than anything good to happen from this. But that was ridiculous, since he didn’t exactly know what “this” was. He didn’t know what this feeling was, or why he was more irritable when Reiji was out of town. Maybe it was coincidence. Maybe Reiji was better at keeping Camus at bay. In any case, he just wasn’t sure about much of anything honestly. So there was no danger, right?

The morning was too early, but Ranmaru met Reiji as planned, and tried his best to ignore the way he noticed his body loosen up when he saw the other boy. It meant nothing, he thought seriously to himself, watching Reiji buy them breakfast in a cafe somewhere en route to their destination. Reiji had insisted he would buy breakfast since it was so early, so Ranmaru had let him, and once they got back in the car, he ignored how pleased he was that Reiji had remembered his favorite food. Instead, he stared out the window. 

The photoshoot was uneventful which was no surprise to Ranmaru, though he was surprised that Reiji continued to visit him between photos. He would come over when he could, smiling and pleased with himself, his eyes lit up when he saw Ranmaru had been watching him, and would ask him questions or just talk a bit before he had to go back. Ranmaru had glanced to the side to clear his head when he felt something cold press up against his cheek. Jerking to look, he was surprised to see a smiling Reiji.

“It’s important to stay hydrated, Ranran. I brought you a water!” 

Ranmaru took the bottle, never looking away from the other boys face. “Don’t push it into my cheek next time.”

“Next time don’t look away!” Reiji teased, laughing gently. “I want your eyes on me and only me.” When Ranmaru failed to respond Reiji was going to say more, but he was called back to set, and he said happily, “See you in a bit! Watch me!” and winked, running off to rejoin the professionals. 

Despite his desire to disappoint Reiji, he couldn’t really help himself. That was more irritating than anything, because every now and again he could see Reiji’s eyes flick his way and his smile would be a little more pronounced when he saw that Ranmaru was obeying him. Ugh, stupid. This whole thing was stupid, maybe he should just go. It didn’t mean anything. That was it. He was reading too much into this whole “emotions” thing thanks to the comment Ai had made. Oh, when he got home, he was going to throttle the boy. Standing to leave, he was stopped short by a quiet.

“Ranran?”

Damn. Turning, he smiled just a little, reassuring despite himself, “I just need to stretch. Are you almost through?”

Reiji looked so relieved, Ranmaru felt a pang of guilt for even trying to leave. Not that that would have stopped him. Except that it did. Before Ranmaru could explore that, Reiji said, “Yes, we’ve just finished. I just need to change back into my clothes and we can get going. Are you hungry?”

“Yes.”

“Great! I know a good place near here, we can walk. Then you can get you stretch, and the interview spot is really close, too. Are you coming to-”

“I’m staying with you all day,” Ranmaru interrupted, looking away from Reiji’s face when he smiled again. “I thought that was clear.”

Reiji grinned, “Sure. I’ll be right back!” and off he went, leaving an annoyed Ranmaru by himself. While Reiji was changing, Ranmaru wrote into his log: Reiji- yes, Notes- out with reiji and then paused. Irritable wasn’t quite the right word. Before he could find the exact one he wanted, Reiji came up beside him. Together they left the building, Ranmaru focused instead of on himself, on Reiji’s chatter about something irrelevant. A book, maybe. A warmth settled in and he felt satisfied by their walk, the fresh air, and how happy Reiji was to be talking to someone. Briefly he wondered if the other boy was lonely and that’s why he was so eager to please and keep him there. But Reiji was popular and outgoing so theoretically he could easily make friends anyplace. 

The restaurant was a small place and he was pleased to find that they offered many different meat dishes. After some deliberation they ordered, and Ranmaru watched Reiji thoughtfully. Any lack of response from him went unnoticed by the other boy, who happily chatted on as if he had responded. Ranmaru leaned on his fist, watching him through soft eyes. If Reiji noticed how gentle and quiet Ranmaru had been behaving, he didn’t say anything. The rest of the day was easy, quick, and at the end, Ranmaru asked him again what he was doing the following day.

And so the week went by, Ranmaru going with Reiji to many different jobs if he was available, and meeting up after if he wasn’t. Still, Ranmaru didn’t say much when they were out. Reiji did, though, and so over the week Ranmaru saw aspects of him he hadn’t seen a lot of. At the end of the first week, as Ranmaru had opened his mouth to ask if he was busy the next day, Reiji cut him off.

“How about we sync our calendars?” Reiji asked, smiling, “I can link you to mine, then you can see where I am. And I can write a note on each one telling you what time I leave. Then you can join if you want, and I’ll put in where I’m eating lunch, and what time I’m having dinner. Then if you’re free, you can call me, and we’ll set up dinner, or I’ll ask for two menus at lunch, or-or well.”

Ranmaru was surprised, but then smiled, warm and gentle, “Okay. That would work.” 

That worked even better. Ranmaru showed up for lunch almost every day, and a few times that week he managed to meet for the whole day. And the dinners were hit or miss. It didn’t matter, Ranmaru just enjoyed the sometimes-free meals Reiji provided if he met up with him. And the conversation, although usually fairly one-sided, was nice, too.

At the end of the second week, Ranmaru noticed a flight scheduled for Reiji. The change in his mood was instant, so sudden even he himself noticed it. He wrote it down in his book, but when he went to meet Reiji the next morning, he was still irritated. The other boy, who could see through most, picked it up immediately, looking puzzled and maybe concerned.

“You don’t have to join me, Ranran.” It was gentle, soft, an invitation. Not demanding or implying he didn’t want Ranmaru there, no, just a gentle reminder he didn’t expect anything of him. It grated him anyway.

“I know that,” Ranmaru snapped. There was a pause, Reiji looking at him with big eyes. Finally Ranmaru continued, “I know that. You’re leaving, again?”

“Yeah. They booked me, so I have to go.”

Ranmaru was restless, but he refused to look back up to Reiji’s questioning, probing gaze. “You’re going to be late.” 

Reiji was gone for four days. Since three days before he left, Ranmaru’s mood was irritable. It was clear in his book, even the glaring note of “found out he’s leaving” on the day it started wasn’t plain enough for him to figure it out. Not until the day before Reiji came back, when his irritability all but vanished. Even Camus had told him his mood had improved and to keep doing whatever he was doing now, since he was more tolerable. The day of his arrival, Reiji’s flight was late. 

Really late, actually, and Ranmaru thought it was stupid to wait up for him. And yet, when he tried to sleep he really couldn’t. He watched the clock and when he heard Reiji come into the apartment, it was three in the morning. Quietly he waited, listening to the soft footsteps heading into his room, and Ranmaru slipped out of his bed. He didn’t even know what he was doing, honestly, he just headed downstairs, pausing outside the closed bedroom door for only a moment before he pushed it open. Inside it was dark, and he could make out Reiji already in bed, either asleep or close. Ranmaru could feel his heartbeat in his neck as he gently shut the door behind himself and stepped across the room, lifting Reiji’s blanket and slipping in beside him, wrapping his arms around him, pulling him close. 

Reiji started at once, letting out a confused noise, grabbing the hands around his waist, holding him fast to Ranmaru. Ignoring the surprise, Ranmaru buried his face into Reiji’s hair, inhaling the scent of airplanes and airports and the distant scent of Reiji’s shampoo. It seemed to him he had been waiting for this for a while, as he melted against the smaller man, relaxing entirely within moments, already starting to fall into a hazy sleep. For only a moment Reiji was tense, but after a moment he murmured a goodnight and relaxed against him. Once Reiji was relaxed, too, Ranmaru was fast asleep, holding onto him tightly, enveloping him entirely.

The morning was too soon, too bright. Ranmaru groaned, his grip on Reiji tightening as he hid his face in his hair. “Why is your window open?”

“I like it,” Reiji said, his voice was soft and kind of scratchy and sounded a little garbled, as if he hadn’t woken up fully. “Ranran?” A grunt. “Why are-” He stopped, pausing, and changed his question, “Are you off today?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to go with me to the movies?”

Ranmaru was quiet, but Reiji started again when one of his thumbs rubbed his stomach. “Can we get lunch, first?”

“Of course!”

“Alright. You should shower, you smell like an airport.”

Reiji laughed, gently pulling himself free of the embrace. Standing and stretching out, he glanced over his shoulder to see a sleepy looking Ranmaru, draped in his bed, one eye watching him over the edge of the pillow his face was pressed into. His arms were bare and toned, and for a moment Reiji seemed to want to get back in bed with him, but he shrugged it off and stepped around the bed, heading for his bathroom. Finally, Ranmaru relaxed, stretching out, enjoying the feel of the strange sheets against his skin for only a moment before going to get ready himself. 

For the next week Ranmaru joined him in bed, slipping in beside him once Reiji had already settled in. Reiji never brought it up, never asked, never pressed for more. Which was nice, because Ranmaru wasn’t exactly sure what his goal was. He just knew he preferred being with Reiji than without so he spent most of his time with. But after a week, Reiji was wondering what he was doing. Maybe the first couple of nights, Reiji had thought, Ranmaru had a bad nightmare or was lonely or maybe his phone or alarm clock broke. Something to explain how suddenly cuddly his friend was. Asking him seemed to be the easiest solution but Ranmaru wasn’t much of a talker. Telling the other members of Quartet Night seemed like it could create problems since they hadn’t noticed both boys coming from the same room in the morning and-it felt strange to bring it to their attention. So instead he settled on asking the only other two people who might know enough about him to give an insight.

Masato was seated on the couch, reading a book, and Ren was draped over the back, reading over his shoulder when Reiji walked in without knocking. Ren looked up, turning a little to see who it was while Masato sighed deeply.

“Bukky!” Ren said, sounding surprised but not mad. “You know, you should knock. You could have caught us in a compromising position.”

“Unlikely.” Masato closed his book, standing up to greet Reiji. “Hello, Kotobuki.”

“Aw, sorry, Ren-ren.” Reiji smiled, “I’ll knock from now on. I was wondering something, though, and was caught up in it. Do you have a moment?”

“Sure. Who’s the question for?”

“Both of you, I think. I think you’ll be able to help, uh, both of you.”

Masato was looking curious now, too, and gestured for Reiji to come sit down on the couch. Once Masato and Reiji were seated, Reiji leaning on the back so he could look at both Masato and Ren leaning over the back. Ren’s hands rested close to Masato, but he stood behind him so Reiji could see them both at once. Now that he had their attention Reiji wasn’t so sure it was a good idea to include other people at all. Would Ranmaru be upset if he found out he’d been asking other people instead of just talking to him?

“Okay, so when you’re friends with someone do you sleep with them?” 

The reaction from both boys was pretty sudden, but vastly different. While Masato looked surprised and then confused as to why that was even a question, Ren leaned forward, hands touching Masato’s shoulder as he looked amused and curious too.

“No.”

“Depends on the friend, who is it?” Ren asked, ignoring Masato’s glance of annoyance. “For example, if it’s Shinomi-”

“No, no, it’s Ranran.” Both boys exchanged a look, so Reiji pressed on. “I’m not sure when it really started but a couple of weeks ago he started asking if he could come with me to my jobs. So I let him, but then he wanted to come all the time so I let him sync his calendar with mine and then he got weird when I had to go away for a few days and then when I came back he got into bed with me and now-ah,” Reiji rubbed his neck, laughing nervously, “He gets into bed with me every night and it’s been a week and I was just wondering how-you lived with each other.”

“Yes. I have never seen him climb into bed with either of us.” Masato said calmly, though he had an expression Reiji couldn’t place.

“No, he never has. I think it’s safe to say he has a crush on you.”

Reiji laughed, for real this time, “No. Ranran’s not-we just barely started getting along as Quartet Night. We’re not like you guys.”

“I think you are,” Ren said, looking amused. He ignored Masato’s glare of indignation and continued, “More than you realize. I think it’s safe to say you should ask him why he’s sleeping with you, or if you dislike it, to let him down gently.”

“It’s not that I don’t like it.”

“So then ask him why. Or ask him out.”

Masato sighed, “I hate to agree with Jinguji, but I do have to agree. I think he holds affection for you and that having a conversation with him may be the best course of action.”

“See, even Hijirikawa agrees. So I’m going to say you need to just talk to him.” Ren smiled warmly at Reiji, “He’s not as scary as he seems, you know that. What’s the worst that can happen?”

With that, Reiji left the two, and spent the rest of the day considering their advice. When Ranmaru climbed into bed with him, and pulled him as close as ever, curling around him, Reiji relaxed. It didn’t really matter why Ranmaru was so clingy lately, since Reiji didn’t mind so much. He was near sleep when a kiss to the back of his neck woke him up with a gasp and a jerk, trying to pull away but he was held fast. More kisses, soft and gentle on the back of his neck, while the hand around his waist pushed up his shirt just enough to touch his bare skin. Reiji’s heart leaped into his throat and for a moment he wasn’t sure what to do but in a moment he twisted, trying to pull away.

“Ranmaru.” 

“Yes?”

“What are you doing?” Reiji asked, his voice cracking, his hands grabbing Ranmaru’s. “What-stop.”

“You don’t like it?” Ranmaru’s voice was deep in his ear, kind of raspy, and Reiji shivered. “I’ll stop. I apologize.”

“No, wait,” Reiji was battling himself, struggling between wanting to continue and wanting to know what was going on. His breath hitched when Ranmaru gently bit where his shoulder met his neck. “Ran-why?”

In lieu of an answer, Reiji felt his head swim when Ranmaru pressed his reason against his back, the hard truth of exactly why between them. Reiji twisted free, shoving Ranmaru’s hands away, and practically fell out of his bed. 

“Ranmaru,” Reiji said, sounding irritated, standing quickly, “What is going on with you?”

“What do you mean?” 

“Why are you wanting to go places with me? Why are you climbing into bed with me every night? Why are you-just talk to me. What’s going on?”

Sitting up in Reiji’s bed, the blanket draped across his lap, looking attractively messed up from being in bed, his tank top askew. There was a long pause where both boys stared at each other, and finally Ranmaru looked away, his cheeks tinged with pink.

“I don’t want you to go with anyone else. I don’t want you to sleep with anyone else. I don’t want to share you.”

Reiji was visibly puzzled. And then, everything fell into place, and his face softened and he said, “Oh. I see. Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yes, okay. But if you don’t share, I don’t share, okay?” Reiji clarified, since if he was going to accept this, then, well.

“Yes,” Ranmaru said, shrugging a shoulder, and then said, “Come back?”

Reiji smiled a little, closing the distance between them, falling back into his bed and wrapping his arms around him. Ranmaru pressed a kiss to his forehead before squeezing him against him gently.


End file.
